Carboxylic acids are weaker than mineral acids but stronger than alcohols and many simple phenols. The pKₐ is approximately 16 for ethanol and 10 for phenol.

Aliphatic carboxylic acids with up to four carbon atoms are miscible in water due to hydrogen bond formation. However, solubility decreases with an increasing number of carbon atoms. Higher carboxylic acids become practically insoluble in water due to increased hydrophobic ...

Carboxylic acids have higher boiling points due to more extensive intermolecular hydrogen bonding. These bonds persist even in the vapour phase, with most carboxylic acids existing as dimers in the vapour phase or in aprotic solvents.

Aliphatic carboxylic acids up to nine carbon atoms are colourless liquids with unpleasant odours, while higher acids are wax-like solids with low volatility, resulting in practically odourless characteristics.

Acid chlorides hydrolyze with water to form carboxylic acids, while hydrolysis with aqueous base produces carboxylate ions, which can be acidified to yield the corresponding carboxylic acids.

Grignard reagents react with carbon dioxide to form salts of carboxylic acids. Upon acidification with mineral acid, these salts transform into the corresponding carboxylic acids.

Electron-withdrawing groups enhance carboxylic acid acidity, stabilizing the conjugate base, while electron-donating groups decrease acidity. The increasing acidity order of substituents is Ph < I < Br < Cl < F < CN < NO₂ < CF₃.

Substituents affect carboxylic acid acidity by influencing the stability of the conjugate base. Electron-withdrawing groups increase acidity by stabilizing the conjugate base through inductive and/or resonance effects, while electron-donating groups decrease acidity by destabilizing the conjugate base.

Carboxylic acids are more acidic than phenols because the carboxylate ion, the conjugate base of carboxylic acids, is more stabilized with two equivalent resonance structures, while the phenoxide ion has non-equivalent resonance structures, leading to less effective delocalization and lower ...

Carboxylic acids are among the most acidic organic compounds due to the stabilization of their conjugate base, the carboxylate ion, through two equivalent resonance structures. This contrasts with phenols, where the phenoxide ion has non-equivalent resonance structures, making carboxylic acids ...